Way out back with the experts…..Wayoutback….locals and bloody proud of it!
Wayoutback started from humble beginnings, which Don Wait MD [right] describes as maxed out credit cards and a couple of Troop Carriers, in early 1999, founded primarily on a love of Central Australia and, more importantly, that unique feeling you get when you’re really out there and that fantastic feeling of solitude and timelessness descends upon you.
Don told me their ethos was and still is based on a couple of fundamental characteristics that they believe are paramount to really getting an authentic taste of the outback as an adventure traveller.
- Small groups in 4 wheel drive vehicles (max. 16 people)
- Bush camping
- Cooking food over a campfire
- Sleeping under the stars in swags (Aussie bush bed)
- 4 wheel driving on outback bush tracks
- Keeping away from the crowds as much as possible
- Providing authentic Aboriginal interaction
- Employing and training guides that are, or become, the best in the business.
He also told me that Wayoutback is “Local and Bloody Proud Of It”, unlike their major competitors that are part of very large Multinational companies, with Wayoutback locally owned and operated from Alice Springs.
Don said that everyone at Wayoutback is highly passionate about what they do with a sole focus on Central Australia, they all know it extremely well complimented by a vast array of contacts around Alice, on Cattle Stations and Aboriginal Communities, also supporting a host of Alice Springs businesses, including a number with indigenous ownership.
He stressed though that they are not a tin pot cottage industry but a highly professional operation employing up to 10 full time staff, 10 part-time guides/contractors and currently 12 vehicles, with a first class reputation within the tourism industry highlighted with Wayoutback receiving a 2010 Brolga Award, the industry’s highest accolade for the best tourism products and services in the Northern Territory.
To hear what Don had to tell me, click on the video box below and to find out more about Wayoutback, click on www.wayoutback.com.au
John Alwyn-Jones reporting on location for Global Travel Media TV from Australian Tourism Exchange 2012.
